The AIDS Plays Project is reviving and republishing the theatrical works of writers whose lives were cut short by HIV/AIDS-related illnesses.
We are releasing their plays from the archive and returning them to the stage in one-off performances starring award-winning actors, writers and drag artists. Striving for cultural recovery and repair, we seek to mend the connection between these trailblazing writers and a younger generation of artists and audiences in the UK.
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even if you don't admit it,
even if you never were to admit it,
you must've needed us sometimes,
and regretted you couldn’t tell us.
For one night only, Jean-Luc Lagarce’s poetic family drama Only The End of the World will be directed by Júlia Levai in an unrehearsed public workshop. Louis is dying. One Sunday he returns to his hometown, planning to tell his family about his diagnosis. Walking into the house he abandoned twelve years ago, he finds his mother, sister and brother exactly as he remembered them. They say they’re happy to see him, but his sudden appearance stirs old resentments and rivalries—and Louis is reminded of why he left.
Jean-Luc Lagarce was a French actor, director and playwright who published 25 plays in his lifetime. Only The End of the World is part of an autobiographical trilogy including I was waiting in the house for the rain to come and The Faraway Country. Since his AIDS-related death in 1995, at age of 38, his work has been rediscovered and widely produced in France.
Júlia Levai is a theatre director and dramaturg from Budapest, based in London. She most recently directed the critically acclaimed premiere of Nancy Netherwood’s Radiant Boy (★★★★★, WhatsOnStage) at Southwark Playhouse.
Play Circle. Cast to be announced. October 9th, 7.30pm. London Performance Studios.
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Since establishing our project in 2023, we have staged plays by trailblazing writers including Charles Ludlam, Harry Kondoleon, Robert Chesley, James Kirkwood, Colm Ó Clúbhán and Alan Bowne. From a drag-heavy riff on La Traviata to a tender tragedy about phone sex, a bisexual comedy once booed off Broadway to a searing exploration of queer life in 80s Ireland, we unearth hidden gems from history and return them to our community.
Each production is accompanied by memories, tributes, and interviews with the writer’s surviving friends, family, and loved ones. Together, we’re building an online archive to carry the legacies of these writers forward.
On World AIDS Day 2024, we partnered with the UK AIDS Memorial Quilt for our production of ‘Christmas on Mars’. Several panels from the quilt—bearing names like Ian Charleson and Nureyev—formed the backdrop to Harry Kondoleon’s haunting exploration of love and loneliness in 80s New York.
Photo: Jake Bush
As our project continues to grow, we’re now working to bring these plays into print—some for the very first time. In 2024, we partnered with Polari Press to republish ‘Christmas on Mars’ in a special edition featuring a conversation with Don Shewey. It serves as a moving tribute to one of America’s most enchanting playwrights.
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Get In Touch
alastair@theaidsplaysproject.comThe AIDS Plays Project was set up by Alastair Curtis. Our project has worked with: Elliott Adcock, Ben Allen, Max Allen, Nathan Armarkwei-Laryea, Rakie Ayola, Dickie Beau, Lewis Brown, Connor Byrne, Luca Kamleh Chapman, Cavan Clarke, Jeanie Crystal, Alastair Curtis, Florence Dobson, Liadán Dunlea, Selina Griffiths, Sue Gives A Fuck, Alistair Hall, Nicky Harris, Georges Hann, Paul Hilton, Dominic Holmes, Luke Hornsby, Orlando/Holly James Johnston, Lauren John Joseph, Florence Keith-Roach, Katherine Kingsley, Ms Sharon Le Grand, Syrus Lowe, Mary Malone, Taylor McClaine, Justine Mitchell, Helen Noir, Rilwan Abiola Owokoniran, Izzy Parriss, Melissa Saint, Adam Silver, Sharon Small, Stuart Thompson, and Alan Turkington.
It was commissioned by London Performance Studios and has also performed at Rich Mix.
Creative production by KIND. Design by Tom Joyes.